Yaguas National Park, located in northeastern Peru, will protect millions of acres of wilderness from development and deforestation. The land it covers is home to a diverse number of fish, plant, bird and mammal species (including the endangered giant otter), many of which can’t be found anywhere else in the world. It was recently discovered that the park also has peat bogs, which form a network that stores massive amounts of carbon and could play an important role in reducing carbon emissions.

Researchers have discovered that cutting down on emissions isn’t enough to effectively reduce global warming. To make a difference, negative emissions technologies need to be developed and used to remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. One technique, known as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage is at the forefront of these technologies. It involves cultivating fast-growing grasses and trees to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They would then be burned at power plants to generate energy, but instead of releasing the vegetation’s carbon into the atmosphere, it would be captured and pumped underground.

Chemical products containing refined petroleum compounds now rival vehicle emissions as the top source of urban air pollution. Products like household cleaners, pesticides, paints, perfumes, lotions and other products contribute about as much to air pollution as vehicle emissions do.

Most trees in the rainforest depend on animals to spread their seeds, either through consumption or by sticking to their fur. Originally it was thought that the decrease in fruit-eating animals by over-hunting would result in altered forest makeup and huge decreases in the amount of carbon stored in tropical forests. A new study of the Amazon rainforest published in the Journal of Ecology has determined the effects of losing seed dispersers on the ecosystem are less straightforward, and less immediately devastating.

If enacted, the Administration’s FY 2019 budget proposal would have a significant negative impact on the health and resiliency of our nation’s forests.

While the Administration’s budget proposes a slight increase in funds to reduce wildfire risk on America’s national forests, it does not propose a comprehensive fix to the wildfire suppression budgeting issue, especially regarding the erosion of the U.S. Forest Service’s budget due to the rising costs of suppression. The budget ultimately reduces overall funding for the National Forest System by more than $170 million. Of equal concern, the budget proposes to eliminate key programs from the State and Private Cooperative Forestry division including Urban and Community Forestry, Forest Legacy, Community Forests and Open Space, and Landscape Scale Restoration.

The Administration‘s stated reasoning for the unprecedented cuts to these State and Private Forestry programs is to focus resources on the maintenance of existing National Forest System lands. We do not believe that such a choice is prudent or even necessary, given the overall rising funding levels provided for domestic discretionary programs in Congress’ new two-year budget agreement. Further, eliminating programs in state and private forestry will put national forests at greater risk by increasing the likelihood of cross-boundary threats like wildfire.

All Forests Need Our Support

“The boundaries of the National Forest System are merely political ones,” said Rebecca Turner, senior director of programs and policy at American Forests. “Forest ecosystems do not function that way. If the forests that abut national forests are not healthy, sustainably managed, and resilient – then the National Forest System will not be healthy and resilient. The U.S. Forest Service must continue its proud tradition of leading ‘all lands’ efforts that engage different types of forest landowners – whether states, tribes, cities and towns, or private citizens – to work together to restore our forests.”

This “all lands” approach is especially important given that the National Forest System only contains approximately 20 percent of America’s forests. The State and Private Forestry programs slated to be eliminated are important to the other 80 percent of forestlands, because they help all types of forest landowners care for their forests, maximizing public benefits of forests across America like protecting water supplies and creating jobs.

The proposed reductions to the national forests and to state and private forestry also come at a time when U.S. forests are needed to help slow climate change, yet also face existential threats from a changing climate. America’s forests and forest products currently sequester and store more than 14 percent of annual U.S. carbon emissions, a natural climate solution that requires continued investment in keeping forests as forests, and managing for healthy forests in a changing climate.

“Forests offer a bipartisan way forward on climate change and other critical issues,” said Scott Steen, president and CEO of American Forests. “The U.S. Forest Service programs targeted for reduction and elimination are needed to act on climate and create jobs by funding reforestation of public lands, conserving private working forests, and much more. These public investments should be political common ground, offering something for everyone to support.”

This Ice Age forest wasn’t just buried underground – it’s also underwater! Located about 10 miles off the Alabama coast in the Gulf of Mexico, this forest is estimated to be between 50,000 and 70,000 years old. Scientists theorize it was preserved by mud and sand until waves from a powerful hurricane uncovered it. They are using this forest to learn more about what happens during periods of climate change.

Polar bears are already threatened by habitat loss caused by climate change. Now they also face the threat of food shortage. New research shows that polar bears have a higher metabolic rate than what scientists originally thought, so they need more food to survive in the arctic environment. Since a polar bear’s diet is high in fat and supplied mostly by seal hunting, the concern is that polar bears will have to travel greater distances for food every year.

Mangroves are now considered a harbinger of climate change, since they’re expanding from tropical zones into temperate areas. A recent study shows that, along a 220-square mile area of the Atlantic coast, mangrove abundance has increased by 70 percent in 7 years. This change in plant community is expected to have some benefits, such as increased carbon storage and storm surge protection.

In Pennsylvania, landowners Mike and Laura Jackson’s active forest management is providing an oasis for the golden-winged warbler. The golden-winged warbler is often considered a flagship species for diverse forests, since they need forests of different ages at different stages of life – they nest in young trees and thick shrubs, and live in older forests when they’re grown. Read more to find out how the Jacksons manage their forest.

Researchers believe agroforestry could play an important role in controlling climate change because it stores more atmospheric carbon in plant parts and soil than conventional farming, though it still isn’t as effective as forests. Governments are encouraging farmers to shift from conventional farming to agroforestry. In the U.S., agroforestry is closely connected to the sustainable agriculture movement.

Researchers in Australia studied whether trees will be able to cope with rising temperatures and extreme, prolonged heatwaves. One of the results: To prevent leaf damage by burning, trees use transpiration to “sweat.”

Concerned about the availability of maple syrup for your breakfast? You’re right to be. Research targeted on Michigan’s sugar maples shows that climate change does affect the production of maple syrup, and not for the better. While nitrogen compounds from cars, factories, etc., provide a fertilizing effect for sugar maples, that effect will be outweighed by an increasingly dry climate, which may cause the tree species to disappear altogether.

Famous for its “smile,” the Cow Knob salamander is a high-elevation species found in the Appalachian Mountains. They contribute to maintaining forest health and are important environmental indicators. It, and other high-elevation amphibian species, face the threat of extinction caused by warming temperatures and habitat loss.

The increased demand for charcoal is causing the rapid destruction of Uganda’s forests. According to the National Forestry Authority, about 200,000 acres are cleared every year for the production of charcoal or timber. Local leaders are trying to stop this unsustainable trade.

Red-headed vultures are endangered due to loss of nesting sites and reduction in prey availability. The Wildlife Conservation Society has employed community members to protect the recently discovered nests to help conserve the vulture population, in addition to vulture restaurants — sites where supplementary feedings are periodically provided.

Guy Callendar is proof that you don’t need a Ph.D. to make scientific models! Eighty years ago, he created a coherent model of climate change — that people were creating enough carbon dioxide to raise the world’s average temperature.

In Britain, climate scientists have determined that town planners in big cities can increase their wealth by planting more trees. Trees can increase property value, while improving a city’s overall health.

Albinism is an inherited condition present not only in humans, but in plants and animals as well. Among squirrels, there is a difference between an albino squirrel and a white squirrel, the most obvious being eye color – the former has red eyes, while the latter doesn’t. However, the white squirrel — a color variant of the eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) — gets help from us humans to survive in nature.

To protect or not to protect street trees… The results of a new study published in Ecological Engineering show that street trees in New York City protected from pedestrians by tree guards absorb more runoff water than trees with unprotected pits. These findings can help urban areas develop “green infrastructure” to drain excess water.

Wildlife advocates claim the reintroduction of the extinct eastern cougar to New York State, possibly to the Adirondack Mountains, will restore balance to the ecosystem and improve human lives. Benefits of this action would include reducing the prey population and slowing the spread of Lyme disease.

How do most wildlife survive the cold, winter temperatures? A few ideas may immediately come to mind: Mammals growing another layer of fur, birds migrating south, bears hibernating, etc.

Well, it turns out bears aren’t easily classified as hibernators and not all birds migrate for the winter. Instead, some birds enter a scaled-down version of hibernation known as torpor.

There are three types of sleeping techniques wildlife may use to escape bad weather conditions: hibernation, torpor and estivation. All three allow an animal’s bodily functions to slow down, so its energy is used to sleep through periods of extreme temperature instead of looking for food.

Hibernation

Hibernation is a voluntary state triggered by day length and hormone changes within an animal that indicate the need to conserve energy. An animal enters hibernation when food is scarce, and to reduce the need to go out and face the winter conditions. Most animals store fat before entering hibernation, and may wake up briefly to eat, drink or excrete waste during hibernation. A hibernating animal remains in a deep sleep that mimics a death-like state.

Characteristics of Hibernation:

Triggered by day length and hormone changes

Lowered body temperature — may become as low as the surrounding air.

Slowed breathing and heart rate — an animal may breathe once every five minutes, and heartbeats may occur four or five times a minute.

Lowered metabolic rate

Duration: An animal tries to remain in hibernation for as long as possible. Depending on the species, an animal can remain in hibernation for several days, weeks or months at a time.

Waking: It takes several hours for a hibernating animal to wake up, and it uses most of its conserved energy reserve to do so.

The common poorwill is the only bird known to hibernate. Credit: Doug Backlund/sdakotabirds.com

So…Do Bears Hibernate?

For years it’s been debated whether bears are true hibernators. Bears can go 100 days or so without needing to wake up to consume anything or excrete waste, which is uncharacteristic for animals that hibernate. They can also be woken much more easily than other hibernators. Since bears don’t exactly meet the characteristics for most hibernators, the U.S. National Park Service suggests they are super hibernators.

Bears are unlike any other hibernator, since they stay in hibernation for longer stretches of time without needing to wake up. Credit: Ingo Arndt Minden Pictures/Corbis/sciencemag.org

Torpor

Torpor is a short-term version of hibernation. It shares many characteristics with hibernation, but it’s an involuntary state that an animal can enter at any time depending on environmental and weather conditions. Animals that enter longer periods of torpor — several months instead of several hours — may occasionally wake up and leave their dens in search of food.

Characteristics of Torpor:

Can occur at any time based on food availability and ambient temperature

Lowered body temperature

Slowed breathing and heart rate

Lowered metabolic rate

Duration: An animal stays in torpor for short periods of time. Depending on species and feeding patterns, an animal may stay in torpor just through the day or night instead of several days.

Waking: An animal in torpor can be easily woken, though depending on the animal, it can take anywhere from several minutes up to an hour for it to wake up. While waking uses energy, this loss is counteracted by the energy saved while the animal was in torpor.

Examples of Winter Torpor Users: raccoons, skunks, some species of prairie dogs

Birds may use torpor in order to stay in their territories year round, instead of migrating to areas with better food availability and weather conditions.

However, torpor use isn’t limited to the winter months.

Many animals use torpor under different conditions on a regular basis. Smaller bird species, marsupials and rodents that live in areas with unpredictable food availability and extreme nighttime conditions may enter torpor.

Estivation

Estivation (also called aestivation), like torpor, has the same characteristics as hibernation — except it’s exhibited in the summer! Many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, use estivation to stay cool and avoid drying out during the hottest and driest months of the year.

Characteristics of Estivation:

Triggered by high temperatures and low water levels

Lowered body temperature

Slowed breathing and heart rate

Lowered metabolic rate

Duration: An animal tries to stay in estivation until the temperature cools (nighttime).

Examples of Estivation Users: some species of hedgehogs, some salamanders, desert tortoises, crocodiles

So if there’s a nice, sunny day this winter and you want to head out to the woods, keep an eye out for some of the animals listed above. They might decide to wake up and enjoy the weather too!

]]>http://www.americanforests.org/blog/wildlife-sleeping-techniques-wait-weather/feed/0http://www.americanforests.org/blog/wildlife-sleeping-techniques-wait-weather/Why I’m Here: Appreciating Forests in a New Wayhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AmericanForestsBlog/~3/n6Nf9rBrkcs/
http://www.americanforests.org/blog/appreciating-forests-in-a-new-way/#respondTue, 23 Jan 2018 14:05:44 +0000http://americanforests.dnsalias.org/?p=73531New Policy Intern Megan grew up in the Adirondacks, which is why she's so passionate about improving access to nature for all.

I never really appreciated the Adirondack Mountains until I left them for Washington, D.C. As a budding college student eager to see what the world had to offer, the change to big-city life was what I wanted. When I left for school, I expected to miss my family, my dog. I did not expect to miss the view of the mountains on the horizon; the clean, crisp air; and the clear night skies that allowed me to see the Big Dipper from my front yard.

As a child growing up in New York (upstate, not the city), I got used to seeing forests all around me, which led me to assume that that kind of natural scenery was everywhere. I loved to take hikes with my friends and family every weekend, or walk my dog at the conservation area five minutes from my house. I took for granted the sense of serenity that forests brought me, making me feel as though I was, and am, a part of something bigger than myself.

Realizing just how important forests are to me is one of the many things that drew me to American Forests. I love D.C. and I love trees, and American Forests allowed me to combine the two with important initiatives like their Community ReLeaf program.

This program focuses on urban forests across the country, working to plant more trees in cities, assess damage on tree canopies, and encourage people of all ages to learn the importance of forests. For D.C. in particular, American Forests engages with disenfranchised communities and works to create greenspace across the city. For example, they were able to turn a three-acre vacant lot into a public greenspace that includes a children’s discovery area, performance stages, a fitness track, art installations, and an urban research farm.

The work that American Forests is doing in urban areas is essential. According to the U.S. Forest Service, more than 80 percent of Americans live in urban areas. That number will surely grow as we become a more urbanized nation and, in doing so, we have to shift the way that we incorporate forests into our daily lives.

Urban forests play a key role in promoting the health and happiness of communities. They filter air, control stormwater runoff, conserve energy, and provide animal habitats. Forests improve the well-being of people living in cities as well, as they reduce stress, create places to relax and play, spur neighborly interaction and decrease noise pollution.

To me, working with American Forests allows me to get back some of what I miss from home, and to share it with others. Even in a city as big and bustling as Washington, D.C., people can still connect with forests and nature thanks to programs like Community ReLeaf. Although it’s not the same as being a 20-minute drive from the Adirondacks or being able to take a hike whenever I please, American Forests is helping me connect with forests in a new way.

As a policy intern, I will be able to help make sure that all communities have access to greenspace and trees; that people in urban areas will be able to experience a little of what I had growing up, right outside their front doors.

By working with an organization that is so committed to restoring, protecting and integrating forests, I am able to have the chance to care for a part of nature that has cared for me the majority of my life. After all, we are a part of nature, not separate from it, so by caring for forests, we are essentially caring for ourselves.

The recently approved Yaguas National Park will be located in the northern region of Loreto in Peru. The expanse of rainforest it encompasses — about the same size as Yellowstone National Park — is home to a diverse wildlife population. In addition to conserving the region’s biodiversity, the Peruvian government intends to protect the sacred lands of the indigenous communities in the area.

An issue that arises with the expansion of residential developments in Los Angeles is the threat of losing open, undeveloped land. The combined efforts of Citizens for Los Angeles Wildlife and Laurel Canyon Association were able to preserve open space by raising money to buy a mountain ridge in Hollywood Hills. In the Santa Ana and Santa Monica mountain areas, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s process for issuing “depredation permits” to residents has been changed to give mountain lions a three-strike policy.

In this interview, longtime forester Randy Rogillio discusses the importance of responsible forest management techniques. By sustainably harvesting forests, the overall health of the forests can be maintained while also using the harvested wood to serve numerous products, such as lumber, paper, and fuel pellets. He explains the process of “thinning,” and how the by-products of this process are turned into wood pellets for the biomass industry. He also explains the aftercare of harvested forests.

According to a recent study, the reason that California’s rare spotted owls are abandoning breeding territories after intense wildfires is due to post-fire logging, not the actual fires. In the aftermath of wildfires, the remains of the forest attract small mammals, which the owls then hunt. While the spotted owls have evolved to survive off the remnants of wildfires, the growing practice of post-fire logging threatens their livelihood.

In a study published in Nature’s Scientific Reports, scientists analyzed pollen samples from various locations and determined that most of Europe was once covered by trees. The study aims to establish how Europe’s forests have changed over the past 11,000 years. Researchers hope the data collected for this study can be used to understand how future forestry techniques may influence wildlife habitat changes.

]]>http://www.americanforests.org/blog/forest-digest-january-21-2018/feed/0http://www.americanforests.org/blog/forest-digest-january-21-2018/Why I’m Here: Telling the Forest’s Storyhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AmericanForestsBlog/~3/ypccnb7C_h4/
http://www.americanforests.org/blog/telling-the-forests-story/#respondWed, 17 Jan 2018 19:39:41 +0000http://americanforests.dnsalias.org/?p=73505Discover why amplifying the stories of our forests and environment is one of the main goals of our new Editorial Intern, Leah.

For most of my life, I’ve lived in the Blue Ridge Valley. Though I’ve been on numerous road trips with my family to almost every state in the country, the Blue Ridge Mountains are important to me because they mean “home.”

When I head home for school breaks or the holidays, the first curve in the highway indicates I’m getting closer and closer to my hometown. When I leave, the absence of curves and inclines mark the distance I’ve traveled away.

I grew up believing the mountains would never change. The trees covering them may go through the cycle of green leaves in the summer, an explosion of color in the fall, bare in the winter, and sprouting buds in the spring, but the mountains themselves wouldn’t change.

Now, it seems like there’s something different every time I go home. Sometimes the trees look like their leaves have changed colors or fallen off faster, or look like they’re growing back slower. Sometimes a mountain I remember being covered in trees looks more sparse, or has a new house or building on it. And sometimes, a part of the highway is under construction to expand the width of the roadway.

When I see these changes, I wish a tree or an entire forest would sprout up and grow until those changes disappear, and everything looks the way it used to. I know that isn’t possible, so instead, I’d like to learn more about American Forests’ urban forestry and reforestation projects to see if and how those techniques could be applied in my hometown.

Everything that lives has a story to tell. While the story I told above is how a part of the environment has had an impact on my life, I think the stories of the environment itself are the most overlooked and unheard. During my time at American Forests, my goal is to tell those stories — the environment’s stories — in a way that, hopefully, lets them be heard.

After four years of collaboration with the land owner, this project secured conservation of thousands of acres, including views from The Appalachian Trail, recreation sites, and habitats of the Eastern brook trout and Atlantic salmon.

For over 40,000 years, Australian ‘firehawk raptors’ have reportedly assisted the spread of wildfire by carrying burning sticks in their beaks. While scientists are still working to figure out exactly why the birds are doing this, researchers do believe it’s done with intention.